Constant temperature crystal oscillator

ABSTRACT

A constant temperature crystal oscillator includes on a circuit substrate: a surface-mount crystal resonator which is provided with two crystal terminals as mount terminals and a dummy terminal on the bottom surface, and has a metal cover; an oscillation circuit element which forms an oscillation circuit together with the crystal resonator; and a temperature control element which keeps a constant operation temperature of the crystal resonator, in which the temperature control element includes at least a heating chip resistor, a power transistor for supplying electric power to the chip resistor, and a temperature sensitive resistor for detecting the operation temperature of the crystal resonator, wherein a dummy terminal on the substrate side of the circuit substrate for connection to the dummy terminal of the crystal resonator is connected to a resistor terminal on the substrate side to which the temperature sensitive resistor is connected through a conductive path.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 to JapaneseApplication No. 2005-092067, filed Mar. 28, 2005 and JapaneseApplication No. 2006-023865, filed Jan. 31, 2006, which applications areincorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a constant temperature crystaloscillator (hereinafter referred to as a constant temperatureoscillator) using a surface-mount crystal resonator (hereinafterreferred to as a surface-mount resonator), and more specifically to aconstant temperature oscillator which excels in response characteristicto a temperature change.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a constant temperature oven has been used for a constanttemperature oscillator. Since the operation temperature of a crystalresonator can be kept constant, the frequency stability is high (thefrequency deviation is approximately 0.05 ppm or lower). For example, itis used for the communication facilities of a base station for opticalcommunications, etc. Recently, these communication facilities havebecome downsized. In this connection, a surface-mount resonator has beenwidely adopted. The Applicant of the present invention has disclosed oneof these facilities (Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-157072).

FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B are explanatory views showing a related art.FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a constant temperature oscillator. FIG.1B is a plan view of the first substrate. FIG. 2A is a sectional view ofa surface-mount resonator. FIG. 2B is a bottom view.

The constant temperature oscillator has a surface-mount resonator 1A, anoscillation circuit element 1 for forming an oscillation circuittogether with the resonator, and a temperature control element 2 forkeeping a constant operation temperature of the surface-mount resonator1A arranged on a circuit substrate 3, and these components areairtightly sealed in a metal container 4. The surface-mount resonator 1Afixes a crystal element 7 using a conductive adhesive 6 on the insidebottom portion of a concave ceramic container body 5, a metal cover 8 isused as a cover and airtightly seals the entire structure.

At the four corners of the outside bottom portion (reverse side) of thecontainer body 5, crystal terminals 9 a and dummy terminals 9 b areprovided as mount terminals for a set substrate of a wireless equipment,etc. The crystal terminals 9 a (two terminals) are provided at a set ofdiagonal portions, and connected to an excitation electrode (not shownin the attached drawings) of the crystal element. The dummy terminals 9b (two terminals) are provided at the other diagonal portions, and arenormally connected to the metal cover 8 using a via hole, etc. (notshown in the attached drawings), and function as, for example, groundingterminals connected to a grounding pattern (not shown in the attacheddrawings) of the substrate.

The temperature control element 2 keeps the constant operationtemperature of the surface-mount resonator 1A, and includes at least aheating chip resistor 2 a (for example, two resistors), a powertransistor 2 b for supplying power to the resistors, and a temperaturesensitive resistor 2 c for detecting the operation temperature of thesurface-mount resonator 1A. The temperature sensitive resistor 2 c isassumed to be a thermistor indicating a decreasing resistance value withan increasing temperature. The power transistor 2 b provides the powercontrolled by the resistance value based on the temperature of thetemperature sensitive resistor 2 c for the heating chip resistor 2 a.Thus, the operation temperature of the surface-mount resonator 1A iskept constant.

The circuit substrate circuit substrate 3 includes a first substrate 3 aand a second substrate 3 b, and the second substrate 3 b is held by ametal pin 10 a on the first substrate 3 a. The first substrate 3 a ismade of a glass epoxy material, and the oscillation circuit element 1excluding the surface-mount resonator 1A is arranged on the bottomsurface. The second substrate 3 b is made of a ceramic material, and hasthe crystal resonator 1A arranged on the top surface, and has the chipresistor 2 a and the temperature sensitive resistor 2 c excluding thepower transistor 2 b in the temperature control element 2 arranged onthe bottom surface.

Between the first substrate 3 a and the second substrate 3 b, a siliconbase thermal conductive resin 11 is applied for covering the chipresistor 2 a and the temperature sensitive resistor 2 c. Since the powertransistor 2 b is long in height, it is arranged on the terminal side ofthe first substrate 3 a. The metal container 4 is formed by a metal base4 a and a cover 4 b. An airtight terminal 10 b of the metal base 4 aholds the first substrate 3 a, and the cover 4 b airtightly sealed byresistance welding. The dummy terminal 9 b as a grounding terminal ofthe crystal resonator 1A is connected to the airtight terminal 10 b forgrounding through the conductive path (grounding pattern) not shown inthe attached drawings and the metal pin 10 a.

In this example, electric power is supplied to the heating chip resistor2 a by, for example, a well-known temperature control circuit shown inFIG. 3A. That is, a temperature sensitive voltage by the temperaturesensitive resistor 2 c and a resistor Ra is applied to one inputterminal of an operational amplifier 12, and a reference voltage byresistors Rb and Rc is applied to the other input terminal. Then, thereference temperature difference voltage from the reference voltage isapplied to the base of the power transistor 2 b, and electric power issupplied from the direct current voltage DC to the heating chip resistor2 a. Thus, the electric power to the heating chip resistor 2 a can becontrolled by the resistance value depending on the temperature of thetemperature sensitive resistor 2 c.

Normally, before connecting the metal cover 4 b by setting the first andsecond circuit substrates 3 a and 3 b to the metal base 4 a, forexample, the frequency temperature characteristic as the cubic curveshown in FIG. 3B of the surface-mount resonator 1A as, for example, ATcut is individually measured. When the temperature as the minimum valueat the high temperature side of the operation temperature of thesurface-mount resonator 1A is, for example, 80° C., the resistor Ra ofthe temperature control circuit is controlled and the surface-mountresonator 1A is set to 80° C. Then, the control capacitor (not shown inthe attached drawings) of the oscillation circuit matches theoscillation frequency f with the nominal frequency. Thus, the resistorRa and the control elements 13 which require exchange such as thecontrol capacitor, etc. are arranged on the perimeter of the firstsubstrate 3 a horizontally projecting from the second substrate 3 b(FIG. 1).

With the above-mentioned configuration, the conventional constanttemperature oven not shown in the attached drawings is not used, and theheating chip resistor 2 a is used as a heat source. Therefore, theentire system can be basically downsized. Then, the second substrate 3 bhaving the surface-mount resonator 1A, the chip resistor 2 a, and thetemperature sensitive resistor 2 c is a highly thermal conductiveceramic material. These components are covered with a thermal conductiveresin. Therefore, the operation temperature of the surface-mountresonator 1A can be directly detected by the temperature sensitiveresistor 2 c, and the response characteristic to a temperature changecan be improved.

However, in the constant temperature oscillator with the above-mentionedconfiguration, although the surface-mount resonator 1A and thetemperature sensitive resistor 2 c are arranged on both main surfacesides of the second substrate 3 b which is made of a highly thermalconductive ceramic material, the thermal conductivity is low (poorthermal conductivity) as compared with copper (Cu), gold (Au), etc. as awiring pattern, for example. Therefore, since the resistance value ofthe temperature sensitive resistor is not immediately changed insynchronization with the operation temperature of the surface-mountresonator, and the operation temperature cannot be detected in realtime, there has been the problem that the response characteristic to anambient temperature is poor.

Since the first substrate 3 a and the second substrate 3 b are arrangedup and down by the metal pin 10 a, the number of production processescan be increased and the height is increased. Furthermore, since thesecond substrate 3 b is made of a ceramic material, it is more expensivethan a substrate of a glass epoxy material. In addition, since the powertransistor 2 b of the temperature control element 2 is long in height,it is arranged on the first substrate 3 a aside from the secondsubstrate 3 b on which the chip resistor 2 a is arranged. Therefore, theliberated heat from the power transistor 2 b can be prevented from beingeffectively used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The first object of the present invention is to improve the responsecharacteristic to a temperature change, the second object of the presentinvention is to enhance the productivity by reducing the height, and thethird object is to effectively use a heat source when a constanttemperature oscillator is provided.

As described in the scope of the claims (claim 1) for the presentinvention, a constant temperature crystal oscillator includes on acircuit substrate: a surface-mount crystal resonator which is providedwith two crystal terminals as mount terminals and a dummy terminal, andhas a metal cover; an oscillation circuit element which forms anoscillation circuit together with the crystal resonator; and atemperature control element which keeps a constant operation temperatureof the crystal resonator. The temperature control element includes atleast a heating chip resistor, a power transistor for supplying electricpower to the chip resistor, and a temperature sensitive resistor fordetecting the operation temperature of the crystal resonator. A dummyterminal on the substrate side of the circuit substrate for connectionto the dummy terminal of the crystal resonator is connected to aresistor terminal on the substrate side to which the temperaturesensitive resistor is connected through a conductive path (correspondingto the first through third embodiments).

With the above-mentioned configuration, the dummy terminal of thesurface-mount resonator is connected to the temperature sensitiveresistor through a conductive path. Therefore, the temperature of thesurface-mount resonator is directly transmitted to the temperaturesensitive resistor. Therefore, the electric power supplied to theheating chip resistor from the power transistor responsive in real timeto the temperature change of the surface-mount resonator can becontrolled. Thus, the response characteristic to the temperature changecan be successfully maintained.

According to claim 2 of the present invention based on claim 1, thedummy terminal is electrically connected to the metal cover of thecrystal resonator. Thus, the extraneous noise reaching the metal coveris consumed by the heating chip resistor through the dummy terminal onthe substrate side, and is connected (flows into) the power supply.Therefore, the EMI (electromagnetic interference) can be suppressed bymaintaining the metal cover at a constant voltage. In this case, sincethe dummy terminal is not connected to a grounding pattern of thecircuit substrate as in the related art, the liberated heat through thegrounding pattern can be suppressed (corresponding to the first throughthird embodiments).

According to claim 3 based on claim 1, the crystal resonator has twodummy terminals and the two crystal terminals at the four corners on thebottom. The circuit substrate has the dummy terminal on the substrateside and a crystal terminal on the substrate side to which the twocrystal terminals are connected. At least one of the dummy terminal onthe substrate side connected to the resistor terminal on the substrateside through a conductive path extends to at least the central areafacing the bottom surface of the crystal resonator, and has a largerarea than the crystal terminal (corresponding to the second embodiment).

With the according to configuration, the dummy terminal on the substrateside connected to the resistor terminal on the substrate side is formedwith a large area while facing the bottom surface of the crystalresonator. Therefore, the radiant heat is absorbed from the crystalresonator. As a result, the operation temperature of the crystalresonator can be detected by the temperature sensitive resistor in realtime.

According to claim 4 based on claim 3, the two dummy terminal on thesubstrate side is commonly connected through the conductive path(corresponding to the second embodiment). Thus, since the area of thedummy terminal on the substrate side can be further enlarged and theradiant heat can be absorbed, the operation temperature of the crystalresonator can be furthermore detected in real time.

According to claim 5 based on claim 1, the crystal resonator is arrangedbetween the power transistor and the chip resistor, and the temperaturesensitive resistor is arranged adjacent to the crystal resonator(corresponding to the first through third embodiments). Thus, theradiant heat from the power transistor can be effectively used. In thiscase, one heating chip resistor can be reduced from the configurationaccording to the related art, thereby realizing a more economicalconfiguration.

According to claim 6 based on claim 5, the conductive path electricallyconnecting the power transistor to the chip resistor can be formed bytraversing below the external bottom surface of the crystal resonator(corresponding to the third embodiment). In this case, the radiant heatfrom the conductive path electrically connecting the power transistor tothe chip resistor is added to the bottom surface of the crystalresonator, thereby further effectively utilizing the heat source.

According to claim 7 based on claim 6, the conductive path iscross-shaped between the mount terminals provided at the four corners ofthe crystal resonator (corresponding to the third embodiments). Thus,the radiant heat can be applied to the entire bottom surface of thecrystal resonator, thereby further effectively realizing the heatsource.

According to claim 8 based on claim 1, the circuit substrate is a singleplate and is made of a glass epoxy material (corresponding to the firstthrough third embodiments). Thus, since the circuit substrate on whichthe oscillation circuit element including the surface-mount resonatorand the temperature control element are arranged is a single plate, theheight of the constant temperature oscillator can be reduced. Inaddition, it is not necessary to arrange the first and second substratesabove and below using a metal pin as in the related art. Additionally,the epoxy material is less expensive than the ceramic material.Therefore, the productivity can be enhanced.

According to claim 9 based on claim 1, the crystal resonator, the powertransistor, the heating chip resistor, and the temperature sensitiveresistor are covered with a thermal conductivity resin (corresponding tothe first through third embodiments). Thus, the thermal conductivityamong the crystal resonator, the power transistor, the chip resistor,and the temperature sensitive resistor can be enhanced. Especially, thetemperature between the surface-mount resonator and the temperaturesensitive resistor can be leveled. Since the heat from the powertransistor and the heating chip resistor is transmitted to thesurface-mount resonator, the response characteristic to a temperaturechange can be further improved.

According to claim 10 based on claim 1, the circuit substrate is held bythe airtight terminal of the metal base. The crystal resonator, theheating chip resistor, the power transistor, and the temperaturesensitive resistor are arranged below the bottom surface of the circuitsubstrate facing the metal base. The oscillation circuit element and thecontrol element in the temperature control element are arranged on thetop surface of the circuit substrate (according to the first throughthird embodiments). Thus, for example, the controlling operation of thecontrol element before covering the metal base can be more easilyperformed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the related art in which FIG. 1A is asectional view of the constant temperature oscillator, and FIG. 1B is aplan view of the second substrate;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the surface-mount resonator in whichFIG. 2A is a sectional view, and FIG. 2B is a bottom view;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the related art in which FIG. 3A showsthe temperature control circuit diagram of the constant temperature, andFIG. 3B shows the frequency temperature characteristic of thesurface-mount resonator;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the first embodiment of the presentinvention in which FIG. 4A is a sectional view of the constanttemperature oscillator, and FIG. 4B is a plan view of the circuitsubstrate;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the second embodiment of the presentinvention in which FIGS. 5A and 5B are plan views of the circuitsubstrate of the constant temperature oscillator; and

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the third embodiment of the presentinvention, and is a plan view of the circuit substrate of the constanttemperature oscillator.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT First Embodiment

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the first embodiment of the presentinvention in which FIG. 4A is a sectional view of the constanttemperature oscillator, and FIG. 4B is a plan view of the circuitsubstrate. The explanation of the same components of the related art issimply described or omitted here.

As described above, the constant temperature oscillator arranges on thecircuit substrate 3 the existing surface-mount resonator 1A, theoscillation circuit element 1 forming an oscillation circuit with theresonator, and the temperature control element 2 for leveling theoperation temperature by including at least the heating chip resistor 2a, the power transistor 2 b, and the temperature sensitive resistor 2 c.These components-are airtightly sealed in the metal container 4. In thisexample, the circuit substrate 3 is a single plate (single substrate)made of a glass epoxy material, and the bottom surface of the circuitsubstrate 3 faces the metal base 4 a. The circuit substrate is a singleplate, but it also can be a layered substrate.

On the top surface of the circuit substrate 3, the oscillation circuitelement 1 excluding the surface-mount resonator 1A is arranged, and onthe bottom surface, the surface-mount resonator 1A and the temperaturecontrol element 2 are arranged. The surface-mount resonator 1A isarranged at the central portion of the circuit substrate 3 with theheating chip resistor 2 a and the power transistor 2 b of thetemperature control element 2 placed on the respective sides of thesurface-mount resonator 1A. Then, the temperature sensitive resistor 2 chaving the smallest planar shape formed by a thermistor is arrangedbetween the surface-mount resonator 1A and, for example, the powertransistor 2 b. The surface-mount resonator 1A and the temperaturecontrol element 2 are covered with the thermal conductive resin 11. Thethermal conductive resin 11 is based on silicon as described above, andis about 100 times as thermal-conductive as air.

Among substrate-side terminals 14 of the circuit substrate 3 in whichthe surface-mount resonator 1A and the temperature control elements 2(chip resistor 2 a, power transistor 2 b, and temperature sensitiveresistor 2 c) are fixed by soldering, etc., a substrate-side dummyterminal 14 x connected to one of the above-mentioned dummy terminals 9b of the surface-mount resonator 1A is commonly connected by asubstrate-side resistor terminal 14 y and a conductive path 14 zconnected to one of the mount terminals (not shown in the attacheddrawings) of the temperature sensitive resistor 2 c, and has the samepotential (voltage dividing power supply voltage) as one mount terminal14 y of the temperature sensitive resistor 2 c

The wiring pattern not shown in the attached drawings including thesubstrate-side dummy terminal 14 x, the substrate-side resistor terminal14 y, and the conductive path 14 z is formed by the materials moreexcellent in thermal conductivity than the ceramic material, forexample, Au and Cu. The other terminal of the substrate-side dummyterminal 14 x is not connected to the grounding pattern of the setsubstrate but terminated (electrically open terminal).

In this example, as described above, after setting the circuit substrate3 to the metal base 4 a, the frequency temperature characteristic of thesurface-mount resonator 1A is individually measured. Depending on theminimum value of the frequency temperature characteristic, the resistorRa of the temperature control circuit is controlled, and thesurface-mount resonator 1A is set to the temperature of the minimumvalue, for example, 80° C. The control capacitor allows the oscillationfrequency f to match the nominal frequency. In this case, the controlelements 13 such as the resistor Ra, control capacitor, etc. arearranged on the top surface of the circuit substrate 3.

With the above-mentioned configuration, as explained in Summary of theInvention, since the dummy terminal 9 b of the surface-mount resonator1A is connected to the mount terminal of the temperature sensitiveresistor 2 c through the conductive path 14 z, the temperature (heat) ofthe surface-mount resonator 1A is directly conducted to the temperaturesensitive resistor 2 c. Therefore, the temperature sensitive resistor 2c responds to the temperature change of the surface-mount resonator 1Ain real time, thereby correctly controlling the power supplied from thepower transistor 2 b to the heating chip resistor 2 a. Thus, theresponse characteristic to a temperature change can be correctlymaintained.

Additionally, since the oscillation circuit element including thesurface-mount resonator 1A and the temperature control element 2 arearranged on the circuit substrate 3 as a single plate, the height of theconstant temperature oscillator can be reduced in simple production.Since the circuit substrate 3 is simply made of a glass epoxy singleplate, it is less expensive than a ceramic plate, and has improvedproductivity.

The surface-mount resonator 1A is arranged between the heating chipresistor 2 a and the power transistor 2 b, and the temperature sensitiveresistor 2 c is arranged adjacent to the surface-mount resonator 1A.Therefore, the liberated heat from the power transistor 2 b can beeffectively used. In this example, one heating chip resistor 2 a can bereduced and more economical than the related art.

The surface-mount resonator 1A and the temperature control element 2(chip resistor 2 a, power transistor 2 b, and temperature sensitiveresistor 2 c) are covered with the thermal conductive resin 11. Thus,the thermal conductivity can be enhanced between the surface-mountresonator 1A and the temperature control element 2. Especially, thetemperatures of the surface-mount resonator 1A and the temperaturesensitive resistor 2 c can be leveled. Then, since the heat from thepower transistor 2 b and the heating chip resistor 2 a can be conductedto the surface-mount resonator 1A by the thermal conductive resin 11,the response characteristic to a temperature change can be furtherimproved.

Furthermore, since the resistor Ra of the temperature control circuitand the control elements 13 such as the control capacitor, etc. of theoscillation circuit are arranged on the top surface of the circuitsubstrate 3, the controlling operations (exchange, etc.) can be easilyperformed. Since the arrangement can be made on any part of the topsurface, the arranging design can be freely determined withoutrestrictions.

The other end of the substrate-side dummy terminal 14 x is not connectedto the grounding pattern and terminated. Therefore, the heat isprevented from being liberated through the grounding pattern and theairtight terminal 10 b, the thermal efficiency can be improved. In thiscase, the substrate-side dummy terminal 14 x electrically connected tothe metal cover 8 of the surface-mount resonator 1A is connected to thepower supply voltage through the temperature sensitive resistor 2 c.Therefore, although extraneous noise reaches the metal cover 8, theextraneous noise is consumed by the temperature sensitive resistor 2 cand absorbed by the power supply voltage, and the substrate-side dummyterminal 14 x is maintained to be equal to the other terminal for aconstant voltage of the same potential (direct current voltage). Thus,the EMI, etc. can be avoided.

Second Embodiment

FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory views of the second embodiment of thepresent invention, and are plan views of the circuit substrate of theconstant temperature oscillator. The same components between theembodiment and the related art are assigned the same reference numerals,and the detailed explanation is simplified or omitted here.

According to the second embodiment shown in, for example, FIG. 5A, thesubstrate-side dummy terminal 14 x connected to one of the dummyterminals 9 b of the surface-mount resonator 1A extends at least to thecentral area facing the bottom surface of the surface-mount resonator1A. For example, it also extends between the substrate-side crystalterminal 14 of a set of diagonal portions and the substrate-side dummyterminal 14 x of the other set of diagonal portions. In FIG. 5B, one ofthe diagonal portion of the other set is commonly connected to the othersubstrate-side dummy terminal 14 x. Thus, one of the substrate-sidedummy terminal 14 x becomes larger in area than the crystal terminal onthe substrate side.

With the above-mentioned configuration, one of the substrate-side dummyterminal 14 x totally faces the bottom surface of the surface-mountresonator 1A including the case where it is commonly connected to theother terminal of the substrate-side dummy terminal 14 x. Therefore, theliberated heat of the surface-mount resonator 1A is totally absorbed andconducted to the substrate-side resonator terminal 14 y of thetemperature sensitive resistor 2 c. Thus, the operation temperature ofthe surface-mount resonator can be detected in real time, and theresponse characteristic to the temperature of the surface-mountresonator can be furthermore enhanced.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the third embodiment of the presentinvention, and is a plan view of the circuit substrate of the constanttemperature oscillator. The same components between the embodiment andthe related art are assigned the same reference numerals, and thedetailed explanation is simplified or omitted here.

In the third embodiment, the substrate-side dummy terminal 14 x of thesurface-mount resonator 1A is connected to the substrate-side resistorterminal 14 y of the temperature sensitive resistor 2 c as in the firstembodiment through the conductive path 14 z. In this example, theheating chip resistor 2 a and the power transistor 2 b arranged on bothsides of the surface-mount resonator 1A are thermally connected. Thatis, the heating chip resistor 2 a and the power transistor 2 b areelectrically connected (refer to FIG. 3A).

In this example, the substrate-side terminal 14 to which the chipresistor 2 a and the power transistor 2 b are fixed is connected by aconductive path 14 m traversing the external bottom surface of thesurface-mount resonator 1A. For example, the conductive path below theexternal bottom surface of the surface-mount resonator 1A iscross-shaped. The other end of the mount terminal of the temperaturesensitive resistor is connected to the conductive path of another mainsurface or the layered surface of the circuit substrate 3 through a viahole 15. It is obvious that the configuration can also be applied to thefirst and second embodiments.

With the configuration, as in the first embodiment, the operationtemperature of the surface-mount resonator 1A is detected by theconductive path 14 z in real time to improve the response characteristicof the temperature (heat) control for the surface-mount resonator. Inthis example, the conductive path 14 m which electrically connects theheating chip resistor 2 a to the power transistor 2 b traverses theexternal bottom surface of the surface-mount resonator 1A and fullyextends. Therefore, the radiant heat from the conductive path 14 m isapplied from the external bottom surface of the surface-mount resonator1A. Thus, the heat source can be further effectively used.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the surface-mount resonator 1A hasthe crystal terminals 9 a at one set of diagonal portions and the dummyterminals 9 b at the other set of diagonal portions. These arrangementsare optionally made. That is, at least one dummy terminal 9 b has to beconnected to the temperature sensitive resistor 2 c. In addition, thedummy terminal 9 b is described as a grounding terminal connected to themetal cover 8, but can be electrically independent as the dummy terminal9 b according to the present invention.

Additionally, the dummy terminals 14 x of the other diagonal portions ofthe surface-mount resonator 1A are connected by the metal cover 4 b, andthe other dummy terminal 14 x is terminated, but only the other dummyterminal 14 x can be connected to the metal cover 4 b for connection tothe grounding pattern. However, in this case, since a new surface-mountresonator 1A is developed, each embodiment to which an existing productcan be applied is more practical. Furthermore, the metal container 4 isresistance-welded, but other methods can be used. However, since aairtight seal structure is designed for the resistance welding, forexample, an aging characteristic can be improved.

1. A constant temperature crystal oscillator, comprising on a circuitsubstrate: a surface-mount crystal resonator which is provided with twocrystal terminals as mount terminals and a first dummy terminal on abottom surface, and has a metal cover; an oscillation circuit elementwhich forms an oscillation circuit together with the crystal resonator;and a temperature control element which keeps a constant operationtemperature of the crystal resonator, in which the temperature controlelement comprises at least a heating chip resistor, a power transistorfor supplying electric power to the chip resistor, and a temperaturesensitive resistor for detecting the operation temperature of thecrystal resonator, wherein a second dummy terminal on a substrate sideof the circuit substrate for connection to the first dummy terminal ofthe crystal resonator is connected to a resistor terminal on thesubstrate side to which the temperature sensitive resistor is connectedthrough a thermally conductive path.
 2. The constant temperature crystaloscillator according to claim 1, wherein the second dummy terminal iselectrically connected to the metal cover of the crystal resonator. 3.The constant temperature crystal oscillator according to claim 1,wherein the crystal resonator has two first dummy terminals and the twocrystal terminals at four corners on the bottom; the circuit substratehas the second dummy terminal on the substrate side and a crystalterminal on the substrate side to which the two crystal terminals areconnected; at least one of the first dummy terminals on the substrateside connected to the resistor terminal on the substrate side throughthe conductive path extends to at least a central area facing the bottomsurface of the crystal resonator, and has a larger area than the crystalterminal.
 4. The constant temperature crystal oscillator according toclaim 3, wherein the two first dummy terminals on the substrate side arecommonly connected by the conductive path.
 5. The constant temperaturecrystal oscillator according to claim 1, wherein the crystal resonatoris arranged between the power transistor and the chip resistor, and thetemperature sensitive resistor is arranged adjacent to the crystalresonator.
 6. The constant temperature crystal oscillator according toclaim 5, wherein the conductive path, which connects the powertransistor to the chip resistor, traverses an external bottom surface ofthe crystal resonator.
 7. The constant temperature crystal oscillatoraccording to claim 6, wherein the conductive path is cross-shapedbetween mount terminals provided at four diagonal portions of thecrystal resonator.
 8. The constant temperature crystal oscillatoraccording to claim 1, wherein the circuit substrate is a single plate ofa glass epoxy material.
 9. The constant temperature crystal oscillatoraccording to claim 1, wherein the crystal resonator, the powertransistor, the heating chip resistor, and the temperature sensitiveresistor are covered with a thermal conductive resin.
 10. The constanttemperature crystal oscillator according to claim 1, wherein the circuitsubstrate is held by an airtight terminal of a metal base; the crystalresonator, the heating chip resistor, the power transistor, and thetemperature sensitive resistor are arranged below a bottom surface ofthe circuit substrate facing the metal base; and the oscillation circuitelement and the control element in the temperature control element arearranged on a top surface of the circuit substrate.
 11. A constanttemperature crystal oscillator, comprising: a circuit substrateincluding a first side and a second side; an oscillation circuit elementon a first side of the circuit substrate; a surface-mount crystalresonator on a second side of the circuit substrate, the crystalresonator including a plurality of crystal terminals and at least onedummy terminal; a container enclosing the circuit substrate, oscillationcircuit element, and crystal resonator; a temperature control element tokeep a constant operation temperature of the crystal resonator, thetemperature control element comprising at least a heating chip resistor,a power transistor for supplying electric power to the chip resistor,and a temperature sensitive resistor for detecting the operationtemperature of the crystal resonator, the temperature sensitive resistorincluding a terminal; and a thermally conductive path connecting thedummy terminal to the terminal of the temperature sensitive resistor.12. The constant temperature crystal oscillator of claim 11, wherein thetemperature sensitive resistor is to sense temperature of thesurface-mount crystal resonator through the conductive path and dummyterminal.
 13. The constant temperature crystal oscillator of claim 12,wherein the dummy terminal is on a side of the crystal resonator remotefrom the circuit substrate.
 14. The constant temperature crystaloscillator of claim 13, wherein the dummy terminal, the conductive path,and terminal of the temperature sensitive resistor are more thermallyconductive than ceramic material.
 15. The constant temperature crystaloscillator of claim 14, wherein the dummy terminal is electricallyfloating.
 16. The constant temperature crystal oscillator of claim 12,wherein the crystal resonator is arranged between the power transistorand the chip resistor, and wherein the temperature sensitive resistor isarranged adjacent to the crystal resonator.
 17. The constant temperaturecrystal oscillator according to claim 16, wherein the conductive path,which connects the power transistor to the chip resistor, traverses anexternal bottom surface of the crystal resonator.
 18. The constanttemperature crystal oscillator according to claim 17, wherein theconductive path is cross-shaped between mount terminals provided at fourdiagonal portions of the crystal resonator.
 19. The constant temperaturecrystal oscillator according to claim 14, wherein the circuit substrateis a single plate of a glass epoxy material, and wherein the crystalresonator, the power transistor, the heating chip resistor, and thetemperature sensitive resistor are each covered with a thermalconductive resin.
 20. The constant temperature crystal oscillatoraccording to claim 11, wherein the circuit substrate is held by anairtight terminal of a metal base; the first side of the circuitsubstrate is a top surface; the second side of the circuit substrate isa bottom surface; the crystal resonator, the heating chip resistor, thepower transistor, and the temperature sensitive resistor are arrangedbelow the bottom, first surface of the circuit substrate facing themetal base; and the oscillation circuit element and the control elementin the temperature control element are arranged on the top, secondsurface of the circuit substrate.